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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29331780">The Aftermath</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/SpellCasterLight/pseuds/SpellCasterLight'>SpellCasterLight</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>First Real Kiss Series [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Naruto</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Grief/Mourning, M/M, Mentions of Age Difference Relationship, Mentions of Mild Trauma, Mentions of Seduction Mission, Mentions of alcohol, Smoking, Swearing</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 11:27:21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,416</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29331780</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/SpellCasterLight/pseuds/SpellCasterLight</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>"I; cannot; explain how much that kiss meant to me. Inoichi; he wanted me to have something better. Something real." Sequel to 'First Real Kiss'. Can be read stand alone.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>First Real Kiss Series [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2182212</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>The Aftermath</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto in any way shape or form. This story is purely for entertainment not profit.</p><p>Author's Notes: This is a sequel to 'First Real Kiss' that can be found on my profile, but can be read stand alone.</p><p>Ever read your old story and go "hey I could have ended it this way" well this is the result of that xD</p><p>Trying for some feels here guys! Be warned! *heart hands*</p><p>Warnings: Mild Swearing. Mentions of Grief. Mentions of Mild Trauma. Mentions of Age Difference Relationship. Mentions of Alcohol. Mentions of Seduction Mission. Smoking.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It was a rare guys night. Kiba had his house to himself, his mother and sister away on missions, and so had invited all the guys of their group round for games and snacks and just a little bit of smack talk.</p><p>Naruto was now loudly talking about his first kiss with Sakura he had had a few days ago, not that anyone asked, making Kiba gag lightly and Lee openly cry at being 'beaten on the battlefield of love'.</p><p>Shikamaru could hear Choji laugh at the whole thing from beside him.</p><p>Kiba shared next, again without anyone prompting him, apparently his first kiss was with a girl from Tenko Village he had met on a mission, and the Nara chuckled along with the others when the Inuzuka revealed they had both been so nervous they had ended up headbutting each other at first.</p><p>Apparently, Shikamaru's laughter was more attention catching than the others, because the dog owner rounded on him with a smirk.</p><p>"Alright Nara your turn!" Kiba's wide grin meant his canine teeth grazed his bottom lip. "Who was your first kiss?"</p><p>He blinked rapidly as the thick mental walls he had built around the circumstances of his first kiss seemed to blow away like dust at that <em>oh so simple</em> question.</p><p><em>Mission. Abara. Drink. Hurt. Tent. Talk. Inoichi. Healing. </em><strong><em>Inoichi</em> </strong> <em>.</em></p><p>The Nara felt his chest restrict in physical response.</p><p>"Hey man you okay?" Kiba did a one eighty and was suddenly worried about him.</p><p>"You don't look so good," Choji put his hand on his shoulder, looking concerned.</p><p>"Drink this," Shino leant in from across their circle of friends to offer him a glass of water, which he felt himself snatch and down in one go.</p><p>"Hey, I;" Kiba broke off looking uncomfortable. "I didn't mean to make you freak out man I-"</p><p>"It's; it's not your fault. It's just;" Shikamaru found himself burying his head in his hands, raising his knees up to almost hide in them by curling in on himself. "What a drag. It's not a <em>nice</em> story."</p><p>"You get headbutted too?" Kiba tried to joke and Shikamaru did find himself chuckling even if he still felt his nerves going a mile a minute.</p><p>"No. It's worse," the Nara swallowed thickly his shoulders giving a single violent twitch. "Its <em>way</em> worse."</p><p>"You do not need to disclose if it makes you uneasy," Shino addressed him in that calm, soothing tone of his. "However..."</p><p>That made the shadow wielder raise his head as he felt Choji run a hand over his back.</p><p>"If the memory causes you such distress it; may; be beneficial for your mental state to talk through the issue."</p><p>"Hey, hey yea!" Naruto spoke up then looking at him determined but pointing at the Aburame. "Yea, what Shino said!"</p><p>"We only wish the best for you friend Shikamaru," Lee added with a nerve easing smile and a raised fist. "If you need to talk about it, we will listen!"</p><p>Shikamaru ran his hands over his face as he released an almost pained laugh.</p><p>Maybe it would be good to tell someone...</p><p>He lowered his hands and gave them all as neutral a look as he could muster.</p><p>"This story never leaves this room; understand?"</p><p>He received several nods and positive murmurs in response.</p><p>The Nara gave the blonde another more serious look. "I mean it Naruto."</p><p>"What are you picking on me for? I can keep a secret!" The blonde yelled back.</p><p>Kiba turned to the blonde with a cynical look. "You can?"</p><p>"Yea! Course I can!" Naruto gave him a beaming smile then. "I'll keep a secret for you Shika!"</p><p>That made the Nara release a sigh with a small smile. He took another few deep breaths and forced his body to relax his legs to the floor so he was sitting cross legged, his closed fists resting on them before he spoke.</p><p>"A few weeks before Naruto came back from his training with Jiraiya. I got called to the Hokage's office about a mission."</p><p>The shadow user chanced a look around the room, they were all just waiting for him to tell his story. No judgement anywhere, not yet anyway.</p><p>"I can't tell you much about the mission," everyone in the room murmured or nodded their understanding, they knew the score. "But all I can say is that-"</p><p>Shikamaru actually swallowed down some bile then.</p><p>"-I had to get our target alone and he, he got really drunk and; he kissed me;"</p><p>There were several unhappy murmurs at that and even a "oh man no" from the dog owner, and an upset saying of his name from his best friend.</p><p>"And for the sake of the mission I had to kiss back and <em>keep</em> kissing back until we had him where we needed him and it;"</p><p>The Nara released a hitched breath, folding in on himself again.</p><p>"It was <em>awful</em>. Just; everything about the man <em>disgusted</em> me. He was so much older and he just; he just wanted to," when he broke off this time Choji started rubbing his back again. "To get me into bed and;"</p><p>Shikamaru forced himself to stop talking.</p><p>"It just;" he sighed deeply. "It isn't a nice memory."</p><p>There was silence when he took another glance around the room, the patient but blank looks from earlier had changed into, still not judgemental, but sympathetic and almost pitying looks. He didn't want or need pity, maybe he shouldn't have told this story.</p><p>"Hey man. I'm sorry," Kiba placed a hand on his shoulder and gave a small squeeze. "I wouldn't have asked if-"</p><p>"Why do I get the feeling;" Shino started, cutting of the dog owner, making everyone in the room look at him. "That there is; in fact; more; to this story?"</p><p>Everyone looked back at him and Shikamaru ran his hand over his face, his fingers shaking.</p><p>"Because there is," he once again looked at every member of the room. "This doesn't leave this room," he repeated and got the same reassurances that it wouldn't.</p><p>Shikamaru ran a hand over his ponytail; almost like the same way he had done to-</p><p>He cut that thought off halfway by biting the inside of his cheek, hard.</p><p>"It was a three-man squad on that mission," the shadow user started again as Kiba removed his hand. "One of them you won't know, and he's not really important for this story, but the third was;" the Nara took a deep breath then. "Was Inoichi Yamanaka."</p><p>"Ino's dad?" Choji asked sounding surprised.</p><p>Shikamaru nodded.</p><p>"We stopped for the night and, the other guy took first watch, so it was just me and him in the tent," his lips twitched downwards for a moment. "And he asked what was wrong and I tried to avoid it all, but he wanted to know I was okay; and I ended up telling him that was my first kiss."</p><p>The ponytailed boy looked down at the floor then, feeling a wave of regret he had suppressed for the years after the older man's death start to creep up on him.</p><p>"I think he felt guilty," Shikamaru confessed. "That I had to kiss that guy when he was team lead but it, it couldn't be helped."</p><p>His fingertips came up to run over his lips then, without meaning too, and he found himself smiling, just for a second, as the happier moments of the story appeared in his memory before he spoke them.</p><p>"He kissed me."</p><p>Several noises, the emotion behind them he couldn't quite place for all of them, but there was definitely a large amount of surprise; like he expected there to be.</p><p>"Ino's dad <em>kissed</em> you?" Choji asked, sounding more shocked than surprised this time compared to when he last spoke.</p><p>Shikamaru bit his lip and nodded again, eyes downcast.</p><p>"Holy hell," he heard Kiba breath.</p><p>Lee lent forward then, from his spot beside Kiba to be able to look the Nara in the face with ease. The condolatory look he had made Shikamaru know he was not going to like whatever the taijutsu user was going to say before he even said it. "Friend Shikamaru, he should not have done that."</p><p>"Yes. <em>Yes, he should have</em>," Shikamaru almost growled making every member of the group look taken back; he let out another pained laugh more forceful than before. "What an absolute drag, you <em>don't understand</em> Lee. I-"</p><p>Shikamaru's shoulder's slumped and he swallowed down another anguished growl; how could he make them understand?</p><p>"I wouldn't say it was <em>magical</em> or anything like that," he ran his hands over themselves slowly to try to stop them shaking. "But, after having to kiss that other guy, I don't know," his eyes closed in a long blink. "It kind of felt like it was; putting me back together in some way."</p><p>"He tasted like chocolate," Shikamaru's brain seemed to lazily remember at that moment making him let out a small bout of hysterical laughter. "I don't even <em>like</em> chocolate; but I liked the taste off him."</p><p>Inoichi tasted deep, and rich, and pure; not a disgusting and dirty combination of the many alcoholic beverages Abara had thrown down his throat.</p><p>"He was so <em>gentle</em> with me," the Yamanaka had held his jaw like he was something precious; that should be looked after and cherished. Abara had kissed him like it was a means to an end, and, Shikamaru supposed, that was all it was to him. Something to fill in the time until he could take him upstairs and have his single night way with him just because he was there and a certain type. "And caring and unhurried and thoughtful and all the things a first kiss <em>should</em> be."</p><p>His fingers came up to briefly hold his thinking position before he sighed deeply and placed his hands palm down on the hardwood floor.</p><p>"I; cannot; explain how <em>much</em> that kiss meant to me. Inoichi;" even after all this time saying his name still tore up his insides. "He wanted me to have something better. Something real. Something that wasn't for a mission from some drunk <em>murderer</em> that just wanted to have <em>sex</em> with me."</p><p>His hands fisted themselves as he saw the Yamanaka post-kiss so clearly in his mind. Hair slightly messed up from Shikamaru playing with it, lips a dark pink; eyes a dark blue when they were usually so light; looking at him like he wanted; hoped; <em>prayed</em> he was whole again.</p><p>"He wanted me to have a first kiss that <em>meant</em> something; and it does;" he whispered his forehead meeting his palm in a defeated motion, his eyelids sliding shut. "It means <em>everything</em> to me."</p><p>Shikamaru, at this point, felt like there was a substantial lack of unstifled air in the room, he could barely breathe.</p><p>"I think I need some air."</p><p>He stood quickly and power walked to the door.</p><p>"Shika-" Naruto's, almost whine, of his name made him turn around, with an almost angry aura.</p><p>"What a drag; I'm fine. Guys. Really. Just;" he raised his hand in a stop motion, before it became a fist and fell to his side. "Give me a minute."</p><p>And with that he walked out of the room.</p>
<hr/><p>Shikamaru was glad he kept a packet of cigarettes on him for emergencies, because his nerves felt like they were in one.</p><p>"Hey."</p><p>He didn't need to turn his head to know it was his best friend that had spoken. "Hey."</p><p>Choji stood beside him in silence, letting him finish his cigarette, letting him collect his thoughts, just waiting for him to speak when he was ready. He had taken another three long draws of the cigarette before he felt like he could speak in an even tone.</p><p>"I had never actually said that story out loud before," he scoffed lightly, flicking some ash onto the ground. "Feels different putting it into words; what a drag."</p><p>The Nara turned his head to look at the Akimichi with a slight pleading look.</p><p>"You <em>can't</em> tell Ino," he sounded, even to himself, like he was begging. "I don't want her knowing that," the shadow user raised the cigarette to his lips again. "I honestly don't know how she would handle it."</p><p>"Don't worry about it," the food pill user smiled reassuringly at his friend. "We all agreed not to tell anyone. Your secret's safe."</p><p>Shikamaru took another deep drag of his cigarette.</p><p>Choji's voice took on an almost sorrowful tone. "Why didn't you ever tell me?"</p><p>"I told him I wouldn't," Shikamaru replied honestly, even the memory of talking to Inoichi after their kiss made his insides crawl in agony; and maybe even a little longing. "Besides; when him and dad died, I guess;" the Nara shrugged half-heartedly. "I know it's a drag, but I guess I kind of buried it," he flicked some ash of the tip of his cigarette. "Buried it with him."</p><p>"<em>Are</em> you okay?" Choji asked like the Nara knew he would eventually.</p><p>"I am; <em>because</em> of him," he flicked his finished cigarette butt on the ground and stamped it out. "I am because of him Choji. If he didn't kiss me then, like he did, I;" Shikamaru took a deep breath through his nose, staring out at the Inuzuka grounds for a few silent moments before adding. "I think I might have been in real trouble."</p><p>Choji nodded at his words, but he doubted his well-meaning friend truly understood where he was coming from.</p><p>"Inoichi was a good guy."</p><p>Shikamaru didn't reply, there were no words to express how true that statement was.</p>
<hr/><p>When the two Team Ten members re-entered the room, the conversation tapered off again, making him almost sigh.</p><p>"Alright who's next to share?" Shikamaru forced himself to smile before sitting back down beside Kiba and stealing some of his crisps. "Fess up, don't think I didn't see you all cosy in a restaurant booth with Tenten last week;" he looked up and smirked then. "<em>Shino</em>."</p><p>Kiba let out a roar of laughter. "What?! When did this happen?!"</p><p>As Shino started defending himself from his teammates teasing and Lee's yelling about treating his team's 'precious flower' right Shikamaru allowed himself to take another stuttering breath.</p><p>No; he didn't think his friends; with their dream like, first love, unrushed, untainted, first kisses; would <em>ever</em> understand how much he owed Inoichi Yamanaka, for that first, <em>real</em>, kiss he gave him.</p><p>They would never understand at all.</p>
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